Shuizhu Wu

The widespread use of glyphosate, a broad‐spectrum organophosphorus herbicide, has raised increasing concern due to its environmental persistence and potential health hazards. However, its high polarity and lack of chromophores make accurate detection challenging. Here, we report a naphthalimide‐based fluorescent probe (NAPA‐Al ³⁺ ) for the rapid and sensitive detection of glyphosate. The probe is constructed by coordination between a pyridinamine‐modified naphthalimide fluorophore and Al ³⁺ ions, resulting in quenched fluorescence. Upon the introduction of glyphosate, Al ³⁺ preferentially coordinates with glyphosate, releasing the fluorophore and restoring fluorescence. The NAPA‐Al ³⁺ probe detects glyphosate rapidly within 5 s and achieves a low detection limit of 57.5 nM, outperforming most reported glyphosate probes. Furthermore, portable test strips incorporating NAPA‐Al ³⁺ were fabricated, which display a distinct blue‐to‐green color change with increasing glyphosate concentration. Smartphone‐assisted colorimetric analysis was further applied to achieve real‐time, visual, and quantitative detection. This work demonstrates a simple, low‐cost, and highly effective strategy for glyphosate monitoring, providing a promising platform for food safety regulation and environmental surveillance.

Messenger RNA (mRNA) delivery critically depends on the molecular architecture of ionizable lipids within lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). We report a modular platform of sterol‐containing ionizable lipids designed to probe how sterol motifs and branched dialkyl tails govern in vivo performance. Each lipid incorporates a sterol‐derived (e.g., cholesterol) tail and a dialkyl tail with tunable branching and spatial arrangement, enabling systematic control over packing behavior, protonation characteristics, and nanoparticle assembly. The resulting LNPs exhibited favorable apparent pKa values (6.2–6.8), encapsulation efficiencies higher than 90%, and strong transfection potency. Our lead LNP (L1‐aCho‐e3 LNP) exhibited higher transfection efficiency than the benchmark SM‐102 LNP. Incorporation of cationic (DOTAP) or anionic (DOPA) lipids as fifth components further demonstrated reorienting biodistribution from liver to lung or spleen. Finally, mRNA ^H1N1 @L1‐aCho‐e3 LNPs elicited robust antibody responses and full protection against lethal H1N1 challenge. These results reveal how rational sterol tail design can be applied to create ionizable lipids with tunable structural functional properties for next‐generation mRNA therapeutics.

Ultra‐narrowband materials provide exceptional spectral purity for high‐resolution imaging, precision sensing, and advanced photonic applications, yet molecular systems achieving ultra‐narrowband absorption in the short‐wave infrared (SWIR) remain exceedingly rare. This scarcity arises from the intrinsic trade‐off between long‐wavelength absorption, vibrational broadening, and the structural disorder that typically emerges during disordered aggregation. Here, we introduce SWIR cyanine dyes rationally engineered through controlled steric hindrance, sulfonate‐mediated electrostatic interactions, and π‐conjugation design to promote highly ordered J‐aggregation. The optimized dye, IRJ1089, assembles into remarkably stable and encapsulation‐free J‐aggregates, exhibiting high optoacoustic signal generation efficiency and ultra‐narrowband absorption at 1089 nm with a FWHM of 164 cm ⁻¹ (19.4 nm). Based on a structural analogue's (IRJ1021) crystallographic data and computational analyses, we propose that electrostatic interlocking between sulfonate groups and the polarized π‐backbone, together with favorable slip‐stacking geometry, promotes aggregate order and enhances the J‐aggregates’ stability. IRJ1089 J‐aggregates support high‐contrast multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT) imaging in vasculature deep inside rats (∼1.2 cm), enable real‐time monitoring of antihypertensive drug‐induced aortic dilation, and allow crosstalk‐free SWIR multiplexed imaging for diagnosing colorectal cancer‐associated intestinal obstruction. These findings establish a generalizable blueprint for designing ultra‐narrowband J‐aggregating dyes and provide valuable insights into other SWIR photonic materials in multiple areas.

Ionizable lipids with sterol-containing tails enable efficient mRNA delivery, high protein expression, and improved biosafety, thereby providing a crucial foundation for the development of low-immunogenicity mRNA formulations.

Light-excited dual-mode imaging that integrates multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT) and near-infrared region II fluorescence (NIR-II FL) imaging allows complementary deep-tissue visualization with high anatomical resolution and molecular sensitivity, thereby enhancing the accuracy of biomedical diagnostics. Activatable probes further advance this approach by producing signals upon recognition of disease-related biomarkers, which reduces background interference and improves imaging specificity. BTPE-NO₂@F127, a benzothiadiazole-based nanoprobe, exhibits selective activation of both optoacoustic and NIR-II FL signals in response to hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), a crucial early stage biomarker of liver injury, thus permitting cross-validated detection of hepatic damage in vivo with excellent signal-to-background ratio contrast. Here we present detailed procedures for preparation of the BTPE-NO₂@F127 nanoprobe and its applications in MSOT/NIR-II FL dual-mode imaging of trazodone- or ischemia–reperfusion-induced liver injury in mice. Compared to conventional liver injury diagnostic methods, such as invasive tissue biopsy, ex vivo blood analysis and previously reported fluorescent/optoacoustic probes, BTPE-NO₂@F127 offers real-time, in situ monitoring with high sensitivity and signal-to-background ratio, as well as mutually corroborating signals for increased reliability. The fabrication of BTPE-NO₂@F127, including the chemical synthesis and characterization, requires ~17 d, while the in vitro validation of its H₂O₂ responsiveness takes ~5 d. Notably, the complete workflow of data acquisition and analysis for MSOT/NIR-II FL dual-mode imaging of liver injury in mice using BTPE-NO₂@F127 can be accomplished within 10 h. The protocol is easy to follow and suitable for clinicians and researchers with a basic understanding of chemistry and bioimaging techniques.

Agrochemicals such as glyphosate are widely applied to enhance crop yields, yet their excessive use has caused severe environmental pollution and raised public health concerns. Effective monitoring of glyphosate residues is thus crucial for safeguarding food safety and environmental quality. Here, it reports the design and synthesis of a nitrobenzodiazole (NBD)‐based fluorophore (NBPA), incorporating a bis(pyridin‐2‐ylmethyl)amine (BPA) moiety. This moiety serves a dual function: It provides a binding site for Cu ²⁺ while simultaneously modulating the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) process. NBPA selectively coordinates with Cu ²⁺ , resulting in fluorescence quenching, while glyphosate efficiently displaces Cu ²⁺ from the NBPA–Cu ²⁺ complex through competitive coordination. This restores the ICT process and produces a pronounced fluorescence “turn‐on” signal, enabling rapid and visible detection of glyphosate. The probe shows high sensitivity, excellent selectivity, and a fast response within 40 s and can be incorporated into test strips for convenient on‐site monitoring of glyphosate residues in food and environmental samples (fluorescent color changes from blue–purple to yellow–green under a 365 nm ultraviolet lamp). This work provides a simple, cost‐effective, and highly responsive fluorescent sensing strategy for glyphosate, offering a promising tool for environmental monitoring and food safety assessment.

A carbazole–xanthene-based fluorescent probe has been integrated into portable swab-based sensing device and film sensor, enabling rapid and visual detection of liquid-phase and gaseous hydrazine in environmental and agricultural samples.